amatically chronicles the tortured, devoted relationship between LuLing Young and her daughter Ruth. . . . A strong novel, filled with idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery."
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Los Angeles Times "TAN AT HER BEST . . . Rich and hauntingly forlorn . . . The writing is so exacting and unique in its detail."
-San Francisco Chronicle
"For Tan, the true keeper of memory is language, and so the novel is layered with stories that have been written down-by mothers for their daughters, passing along secrets that cannot be said out loud but must not be forgotten."
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The New York Times Book Review
"AMY TAN [HAS] DONE IT AGAIN. . . . The Bonesetter's Daughter tells a compelling tale of family relationships; it layers and stirs themes of secrets, ambiguous meanings, cultural complexity and self-identity; and it resonates with metaphor and symbol."
-The Denver Post